I'm thinking of removing the app and just going through a little annoyance just to help the developers. I'm not sure how ad blockers work on the financial end so can someone please help me know.
Thanks in advance.
they do
that's why i don't use them. ads are tolerable, i would rather pay the devs in this way for their amazing works
I think there are two types of ads. One only pays the developer if a user clicks on it, and two prepays the developer just for the spot. If you're the type of person who never clicks on ads, I think developers are unaffected. Just a guess.
I wish there would be a version of AdFree that would just block them in the browser. I don't mind ads in apps and want to support the devs, but too many of the sites I visit are plastered with ads.
Yes, devs are not being paid the money they would otherwise be paid if you use an adblocker. In theory it might be possible to design an application that downloads the images and then subsequently deletes them (I know this is possible in browsers) which would remove the ad while also paying the dev, but that is not how AdFree functions and I'm not sure if it's even possible to do with an app; such a thing might require modifying the app's source code.
Yes, that is why I believe ad blockes are wrong and I never use one. If you use someone's free app they deserve the small amount of revenue they get from ads.
Related
I was just treated to my first special targeted ad (ads, really, plenty of the same one) via pandora about how I should pay for an app to block numbers (and text! Wow!). What better way to entice me than invading a great service that I used to enjoy without ads! So I got to thinking, what does pandora do to figure out I hate ads on my phone (ad blocker?, good stuff) and determine I also hate privacy invasion? If I listen to pandora and order a playboy subscription can I get some ads for penis enlargement?
Are there any different ads on pandora? And this company that paid them off (can't remember the name of the app or the company- REALLY effective ad something about my sacred privacy), is anyone downloading the app because they heard the ad? Just curious.
I hate openFeint so I made an app to disable it
https://market.android.com/details?id=benor.closeFeint
I'm still a new user here so it's not a link, if any one can edit this message and make this a link I'll thank him (and give him a free copy of this already free app )
I could debug it only on CM7 so i would like to see if it works on other roms.
The usual it might toast your device and don't blame me (It shouldn't it didn't even restarted my phone while i developed it)
Why do you have to disable adblocking, is there a way to have disable openfeint and not mess up with adblocking.
Just posting the link for convenience:
https://market.android.com/details?id=benor.closeFeint
Any chance of a direct download link or mediafire or ddopbox
ofantastic said:
Any chance of a direct download link or mediafire or ddopbox
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@benor, let me know if you want me to take this link down
http://www.mediafire.com/?bm718kq7lf3i3d4
sweet, just what i wanted
goood idea closing feint thanx
Are there any methods that will not disable ADblocker?
I'd love to know about alternatives to disable/remove Openfeint too.
The condescending vibe this developer gives off, messing with installed applications that are none of his concern, I would never touch that. I would pay for an ad-free 'premium' version, but not from this developer. Removing annoying Openfeint nag screens in exchange for other nag screens just doesn't make any sense.
Android ad blockers work by dumping entries into the hosts file. This app also does the same. To be fair to the developer, he'd have to somehow make his app run every time after an ad blocker runs to ensure OpenFeint remains blocked, which would be annoying to support.
Since AdAway (my favourite ad blocker; it's open sourced) has a blacklist option, add the following entries to it:
openfeint.com
api.openfeint.com
scoreloop.com
and OpenFeint will be blocked by AdAway as it's doing the ads. There's also "*.openfeint.com" but I'm sure that that isn't valid hosts file syntax.
dfkt_ said:
I'd love to know about alternatives to disable/remove Openfeint too.
The condescending vibe this developer gives off, messing with installed applications that are none of his concern, I would never touch that. I would pay for an ad-free 'premium' version, but not from this developer. Removing annoying Openfeint nag screens in exchange for other nag screens just doesn't make any sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a single host file. He might not believe in the blocking of ads. He makes it very clear in his description that it does not work in tandem with Adblockers and that those who use it are not his audience.
He's not being condescending. Who is anyone (not talking about you specifically) to voluntarily download his free app and then get pissy when it does exactly what he said would not work? And then to have the audacity to downrate it to 1 star because they were too stupid to read the description before installing the app?
Honestly, the comments for this app's market listing just go to further confirm that most Android app users are complete idiots with a self-importance complex and they don't think before installing an app. (Not that iOS reviewers are much better)
Based on some of the comments, you'd think that the app was being shoved down peoples' throats.
qwerty12, thank you very much for the explanation! I didn't know this just uses the regular hosts file. If this app overwrites what AdAway put there, then it seems to be rather poorly conceived.
So far I did a chmod 000 and a chown/chgrp 9999 on the Openfeint folder in /sdcard, which only solved half the issue. Will add your URLs to the hosts file.
Liquidsolstice, it's this sentence from the description in the Market that I find condescending: "It will disable you adblockers, if you are using any ad blocker you aren't my audience and i'm not planing to change this." Of course I didn't download it and then whined about it or downrated it, this was warning enough. I agree that the comments on the Market don't show much effort on the users' side. But at least the developer should give a reason *why* he disables ad blockers, instead of that snooty one-liner.
LiquidSolstice said:
It's a single host file. He might not believe in the blocking of ads. He makes it very clear in his description that it does not work in tandem with Adblockers and that those who use it are not his audience.
He's not being condescending. Who is anyone (not talking about you specifically) to voluntarily download his free app and then get pissy when it does exactly what he said would not work? And then to have the audacity to downrate it to 1 star because they were too stupid to read the description before installing the app?
Honestly, the comments for this app's market listing just go to further confirm that most Android app users are complete idiots with a self-importance complex and they don't think before installing an app. (Not that iOS reviewers are much better)
Based on some of the comments, you'd think that the app was being shoved down peoples' throats.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some things are never acceptable under any circumstances.
Openfeint is one of them.
Airpush is another.
Anyone helping others to not have to deal with this junk is doing a service to the community and it should be commended.
It is malware plain and simple (Anything that while the app isn't open puts any junk on the screen is malware).
There is so few developers with any integrity on Android. (Everything is malware or adware - these things are are frowned upon even on Windows don't get why it is ok on a mobile device (hint it is not)).
If you make something worth having (That is a game) and give away a bit (No strings) and it is good you will make allot of money selling the rest for a game. Just like the old proper shareware model.
(I only buy DRM free stuff hence I bought the humble Android bundle for 6 times the average - no interest in anything else or social anything).
Filling other peoples devices with malware to compensate for the developers inability to create a decent app is unacceptable and always will be.
(I would be less bothered if the Market was structured in a way that I could easily avoid this type of junk (i.e adware / malware / stuff that gives away your personal information in a different section).
Regardless of what it is any adware/malware is always one star from me and always will be. (Other than if it is specifically stated in the description that it is adware. (Then I just would never install it).
qwerty12 said:
Android ad blockers work by dumping entries into the hosts file. This app also does the same. To be fair to the developer, he'd have to somehow make his app run every time after an ad blocker runs to ensure OpenFeint remains blocked, which would be annoying to support.
Since AdAway (my favourite ad blocker; it's open sourced) has a blacklist option, add the following entries to it:
openfeint.com
api.openfeint.com
scoreloop.com
and OpenFeint will be blocked by AdAway as it's doing the ads. There's also "*.openfeint.com" but I'm sure that that isn't valid hosts file syntax.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works! Thanks!
Hey Guys,
I have a app developed that I have been charging for use, but i am thinking about switching to a ad model and make my app free. I was wondering what advertising options are out there.
I know that admob owns a pretty big market share, but was wondering what are my options regarding how best to choose an advertiser, what are the other advertisers I have to choose from, and is there a benefit of one advertiser vs. another? Which one would pay more? I know this is dependent on how popular my app is.
Thanks for any info provided!!!
I personally use AdMob in my app. It also integrates Google AdSense ads into your app for when AdMob doesn't have an ad to show. I only just released my app a few weeks ago, but it seems like it will generate a pretty decent revenue. I searched before I implemented AdMob, but I really didn't find anything else.
Ed
wow...so admob has a monopoly of sorts in the market eh? So people use admob or get no ad revenue at all?
What about for the apple iphone? I heard there was iAds, and I guess admob as well? Is one better than the other?
can anyone provide anymore insight, or know of a forum which is popular among android/iphone app developers to better answer my question? There don't seem to be that many app developers browsing these forums.
thanks!!!
Personally, i use admob and have 2 apps using it. I don't make much from it (usually around $0.20 a day) but it's better than nothing i guess
As for which ad company to use, it doesn't really matter. They all pay out roughly the same: Millennial, AdMob, JumpTap, MobFox, etc. It's just down to personal preference really
misc86 said:
Hey Guys,
I have a app developed that I have been charging for use, but i am thinking about switching to a ad model and make my app free. I was wondering what advertising options are out there.
I know that admob owns a pretty big market share, but was wondering what are my options regarding how best to choose an advertiser, what are the other advertisers I have to choose from, and is there a benefit of one advertiser vs. another? Which one would pay more? I know this is dependent on how popular my app is.
Thanks for any info provided!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you briefly say something about your app? Is it game and what kind?
How many downloads have you had so far?
When it comes to in-app ads the industry offers much more than just regular banners. There are other ad formats that deliver much higher cCPM than banners but their implementation depends on the kind of app you have.
I work for LeadBoltApps - our speciality is Content Locks for example; Ad mob is mostly banners; Airpush does Push Notifications and so on. Hope that helps.
My experience with Ad Networks
I have a weather app and needed to get ads going immediately at launch to fulfill my contractual obligations for the weather data provider.
I tried both Inmobi and Millennial Media. The problem with Inmobi is that they want to review your app and approve it for ads once it is up and available from the store.
Millennial Media was much easier to work with. Ads were running in my test app even before launch. There wasn't any manual approval hurdle to jump through.
I also tried to work with YP.com (AT&T Interactive) since my app uses location and they pay good rates for local ads. They wouldn't talk to me until I get 1M pageviews per month.
Wondering if I part with 10 euros, will it get rid of some these (new?) ads when I surf here? Just curious. If so, for how long? I have zero problem giving back in this manner, because I've gotten tons of great ideas as a member, I am simply curious to see if directly giving money gets one anything more than a user who doesn't cough up receives.
No. Add block extensions in your browser will though. As will any number of dedicated shareware ad-block programs available online, i.e Ad Muncher.
Donating to XDA would be nice if you do this though as it's the ads that help finance the upkeep of the site. I feel if you block the ads you should at least donate.
Hi there,
For the sake of security, are the ads in android apps subject to malicious abuse?
Particularly, do they process html and are thereby exploitable as a drive-by download mechanism? Or do they just display a graphic?
If there are both/multiple types, is there an easy way for a user to differentiate between the types on a case-by-case basis?
It'd be good to know which ad-containing apps are a risk and which are not, so can vet accordingly.
Thank you!
Hello.... anyone?
skosner said:
Hi there,
For the sake of security, are the ads in android apps subject to malicious abuse?
Particularly, do they process html and are thereby exploitable as a drive-by download mechanism? Or do they just display a graphic?
If there are both/multiple types, is there an easy way for a user to differentiate between the types on a case-by-case basis?
It'd be good to know which ad-containing apps are a risk and which are not, so can vet accordingly.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it's possible, and has been used against older Android versions, but generally ad drive bys are very rare, and shouldn't (???) work on newer versions ..... but new exploits are possible
Eg
https://arstechnica.com/security/20...t-critical-android-bugs-care-of-hacking-team/
(Though recently the Skinner exploit seems to be able to run code on 7.1 but not sure to what extent, also this was infected initially via app downloaded from Play store, not via ads so a bit different to your question)
You would need to know which ad network an app uses, but no guarantee they won't change it. No easy way to spot good or bad ads while using an app, you would just have to block all ads at system level, I think.
IronRoo said:
Yes it's possible, and has been used against older Android versions, but generally ad drive bys are very rare, and shouldn't (???) work on newer versions ..... but new exploits are possible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you (and the article) are referring to browser-based drive-by attacks. Was inquiring about ads served by arbitrary android apps. Do you know of cases where those are exploited?
Thanks for your response.
skosner said:
It sounds like you (and the article) are referring to browser-based drive-by attacks. Was inquiring about ads served by arbitrary android apps. Do you know of cases where those are exploited?
Thanks for your response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, not the right article really (note to self: read articles in full before posting). However I still believe ads are a potential issue, through I'm no security guru.
Edit: deleted, ref below
I mean, there is a chance of infections through ads, but that happens a lot less on Android. Considering that a significant part of infections is applications..... and then the ads inside those applications. But if you are running trusted software and ads there? I doubt it.
In the most basic sense, the ads that do transfer malware are malicious ad libraries used by developers. Xavier for example. But the custom app also has to be on your phone.
IronRoo said:
Here is one such example
http://www.zdnet.com/article/skype-served-up-malware-through-in-app-malicious-ads/
& here app ads play a role also
https://researchcenter.paloaltonetw...-google-play-apps-infected-malicious-iframes/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems these articles are not relevant either. The first refers to the desktop skype app - android not mentioned. The second one pertains to apps that show local html content as part of the normal functioning of the app, not ads.
Josh Ross said:
I mean, there is a chance of infections through ads, but that happens a lot less on Android. Considering that a significant part of infections is applications..... and then the ads inside those applications. But if you are running trusted software and ads there? I doubt it.
In the most basic sense, the ads that do transfer malware are malicious ad libraries used by developers. Xavier for example. But the custom app also has to be on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but sounds speculative.
do they process html and are thereby exploitable as a drive-by download mechanism? Or do they just display a graphic?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If so, they're generating dynamic, somewhat arbitrary content. This would introduce potential drive-by downloads as when web browsing, without necessitating a tainted development tool or library.
The question remains - does anyone know if android in-app ads are subject to exploit? Actual ads, meaning the sort that free apps use to generate revenue.
Thanks
The only way in-app ads can be exploited is if you have access to the ad distribution. Many free apps use certain ad library code, that they embed into their game. The code pulls ads from the ad server/ad service provider. As I mentioned, Xavier was one such library, they initiated malicious code through their ads, effectively exploiting them because they had availability. Another thing, if you can hijack the ad API requests and instead try to inject your own code or show your own ads, but this is a long shot.
Ads are subject to exploit through ad libraries or ad service providers.
Josh Ross said:
The only way in-app ads can be exploited is if you have access to the ad distribution. Many free apps use certain ad library code, that they embed into their game. The code pulls ads from the ad server/ad service provider. As I mentioned, Xavier was one such library, they initiated malicious code through their ads, effectively exploiting them because they had availability. Another thing, if you can hijack the ad API requests and instead try to inject your own code or show your own ads, but this is a long shot.
Ads are subject to exploit through ad libraries or ad service providers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the latest
https://blog.lookout.com/igexin-malicious-sdk
(@skosner ...... I know still not what you want, but the outcome is pretty much the same)